The study that was published in the December issue of journal Metabolism, conducted the research on mice and tested whether it had a similar effect in humans.

Researchers analysed volunteers representing a range of ages, ethnicities and body mass indices and that cinnamaldehyde worked directly on fat cells called adipocytes, forcing them to start burning their energy through thermogenesis.

Cinnamon has a long history of use in traditional medicine and is a peculiar ingredient of person's diet.